A review by charmel
Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not my Problem in three words is quick, lighthearted, and funny!
It follows Aideen, a witty and vibrant teen with tons of problems of her own but decides to solve others' problems instead of solving hers.

“I want you to game the system. Don’t let it beat you.”

Aideen's character and personality were entertaining. Her coping mechanism is humor and sarcasm. If she were my classmate, I'd want to be friends with her and I would definitely laugh freely at every joke she'll crack, let's not mention my broken humor.

From the blurb, I kind of expected to have this book centered on romance. Except, I think this revolved more about Aideen's problems, social life, and friendship, which made it actually better.

The newly formed friendship between Ravi, Meabh, and Aideen was amazing, I learned so many cute lessons from them! Ravi was an icon, I liked his talkative, energetic, and supportive characteristics. I adored Meabh as well, she was compassionate and a bit relatable.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you. I wish you would tell me, but I respect that maybe you have a good reason not to. But I am not disposable. I’m not a toy you can play with when it suits you and then ignore when you have other stuff to do. If you want to be my friend, you have to stop treating me like I don’t exist if you’re not looking directly at me.”

The friendship that we have in this book was authentic and it's the best thing here. I understood how painful it is to experience friendship break-ups, yet we shall move on from toxicity and go on. I couldn't help but sympathize with Aideen.

Overall, this was a fun read. It dealt with some topics done nicely. Although there were times where I found stuff lacking, this was still a refreshing read to get my mind off things. 3.5 stars✨